1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with a system and a method for testing Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) equipment, particularly ATR equipment which employs optical sensors in the visible, near visible or far infrared.
2. Prior Art
With the tremendous increases in the speed and accuracy of weapon delivery systems, there is a growing need for an ATR system reliable enough to fire weapons without human intervention. As primary functions; the ATR system must first detect a target, store its x, y and z coordinates and identify the target from its visible image, infrared image, radar image, sonar image, etc. If this is done accurately, the remaining secondary functions of automatically selecting a suitable weapon, aiming and firing it; are easily within the state of the art. During a test, the results of the first functions are recorded versus real time as the test progresses. To evaluate these results, a similar record of "truth" about the targets must be available as the results are provided.
One possible method of providing the needed "truth" is to predesign the test scenario, so that the positions of all targets is a predetermined function of time. In addition to being very difficult, this method makes the test inflexible and subject to unrecorded errors. A second method would be to have each target report its position by radio. This, however, makes the targets more vulnerable to the ATR equipment. It is also distracting to the target personnel and prone to error. Similar problems occur when the target positions are determined with radar or similar active type locators.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a means and method for locating ATR test targets which does not degrade the test results, requires a minimum effort from the target operators, and still provides complete flexibility of target maneuvers during the test.